Clean the beans rinse and soak them overnight in water with a 1/2 tbsp of sodium bicarbonate.
Drain the beans.Prepare Sofrito:
Blend all the vegetables for the sofrito.
Add onion, minced garlic, peppers and celery.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.Pour the Sofrito and put a Bay leaf.
Cook them over low medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the black beans with 7 cups of water. As they start to boiling you need to remove with a spoon the foam that form in the surface.
You can cook the black beans in a pressure cooker and after they are soft in when you add the sofrito cooked previously. If you do not have a pressure cooker you cnba cook in a large pan but will take 2 or 3 hours to the beans be softed.
When the black beans are soft add sofrito, panela, cumin, salt and pepper.
Continue to cook beans for 15 more minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle some fresh cilantro.

You can make a delicious Venezuelan Pabellon Criollo: shredded beef, black beans, rice and fried plantains after you cook the black bean soup!

You can use this recipe for lentils, green split lentil, red beans for example , just substitute the black bean for any other grain( Do not add panela (you add only in the black beans)